Gigs are great, most of the time, so to commemorate such events I have decided to create a blog dedicated to the reviews I write. Most are sent and uploaded to GrapeVineLive.co.uk, under the reader's reviews but there may be one or two that don't make it. All reviews are the opinion of me, Ryan, and therefore probably mean nothing in the greater scheme of things,
Be excellent to each other,
Ryan
Although this is not a gig/music review, I thought I'd mention that it appears my Grapevine contributions are proving evermore popular as I have been rewarded with my very own header/logo thing! Kick ass!
So be sure to check out Drop D (with me, Ryan) if you get a chance as it's the second biggest ego boost I've gotten this week! (I'm not telling the first one, because that had nothing to do with music reviews)
Classic Rock Show, Cliffs Pavilion,
Southend, Thursday 25th January 2013
I got two free tickets (courtesy of Grapevine) to one of the best tribute bands in the country/world, Brit Floyd, but not on one of their usual Pink Floyd tribute tours, this time they were doing stuff by other bands like AC/DC, Springsteen, Elton John, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Fleetwood Mac. So here's my review of The Classic Rock Show. (This review is also on GrapevineLive.co.uk)
At the risk of creating some sort of ‘ode
to cover bands’ I am going to start this review with a personal belief... Cover
bands are important. There are people that see the word ‘covers’ as a
derogatory term, suggesting that a musician is somehow not very good because
they choose to play songs previously recorded by others. However, without
performances like Thursday night’s Classic Rock Show at the Cliffs Pavilion in
Westcliff I would never had experienced some of the best songs ever recorded
being played live by expert musicians with the production values to match.
It’s been a while since I’ve been to the
Cliffs, but it wasn’t long before I was settled in for a huge set of Classic
Rock tracks. I picked up my two complimentary tickets (courtesy of Grapevine) at
the box office and it wasn’t long before my buddy and I were sitting in row G
as the opening notes of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’ chimed from the stage.
The set list was based around
the ten
biggest selling albums of all time so each song was going to be a
favourite,
but amongst the Back in Blacks and Money For Nothings that have been
performed
by many of the cover bands I have seen in the past there were some songs
that
very nearly surpassed the originals and are seldom heard in the pubs and
clubs
on a Saturday night. This is mostly because of the eleven singers and
musicians in the show, with the line-up changing from song to song to
give each track that
unique and definitive sound, which is quite an achievement when the set
list
features so many different styles, like the simple heavy rock of AC/DC
to the
much more complicated ensemble required for ELO. Of course having that
many
talented individuals on stage can often be a double edged sword, yes you
get
the ability to perform complicated, multi-layered tracks live with two
keyboards and three guitarists, but sometimes having that many
instruments on
stage at once can be too busy as each instrument competes against the
other. Fortunately
the level of professionalism on and off stage meant the sound was spot
on for
every song they played and that became apparent when the band played
Meat Loaf’s
Bat Out of Hell (the full version, none of that radio edit nonsense)
which received
a rapturous applause as all eleven performers were on stage for the
first time
that evening.
The final performance of the first half was
Comfortably Numb, from Pink Floyd’s The Wall album. I didn’t realise at first,
but much of the band play in Brit Floyd, the Pink Floyd tribute band, and after
seeing that performance of Comfortably Numb I would say I would very much like
to see them as Brit Floyd. It was, without a doubt, the highlight of the
evening. The extended guitar solo was epic and the whole theatre loved it.
A short break to reflect on the first half
and the thing that seemed to intrigue me most was the production valOf course,
finding out the band are mostly Brit Floyd explained why there was such a big
production laid on for us but I was still amazed by the lighting, projections,
roadies, musicians and number of guitars. It was a proper show for people (like
me) that will probably never get to see the original artists performing live.
Second half was much like the first,
brilliant. More excellent songs done excellently and even a quiet moment for
Dire Straits’ Romeo and Juliet which, amid the bright lights and guitar solos
of the other songs, gave everybody a chance to really appreciate the level of
quality on stage as each little detail was performed to perfection, even ELO’s
Mr. Blue Sky had all the effects and ELO-ness it required to sound as good as
(if not better than) the original. I’m
sure by now you realise I enjoyed myself immensely.
The last song of the evening came in the
form of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird, which had the whole ensemble on stage and
had plenty of hand clapping and a few sing alongs in the crowd. Having two of
the guitarists play ‘that’ solo,in unison, face to face, sounded great
and was just another testimony to the quality of guitar playing up on stage. A
huge applause followed the band as they left the stage and the applause kept
going, morphing into a uniform beat and returning to full on applause as the
band returned for an encore beginning with a cover, of a cover, Joe Cocker’s
version of The Beatles’ ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’, then The Who’s ‘Won’t
Get Fooled Again’ capped off a brilliant night of brilliant songs by a
brilliant band.
Well, it wasn’t quite over as our
complimentary tickets had an after party sticker enclosed, so after a bit of
standing around awkwardly as the band wound down with their friends and family
we had a short chat with one of the two lead singers (But it was only a short chat
because I had work in the morning, such is my rock and roll lifestyle). He clearly
likes what he does and is obviously appreciative of Brit Floyd and their
promoters doing the tour, because without a good promoter these kinds of shows
just can’t happen, which would be a great shame because it was a fantastic demonstration
of just how good live music is, whether it be original songs or tried and
tested classic rock tracks.
Guns2Roses, Le Oxford Café, Bethune, France
Saturday 14th January
My buddy Arran and I embarked on probably the longest excursion I have ever taken with the soul intention of seeing a band. Across the channel and down the E15 for a bit is a town called Bethune that on Saturday night played host to Guns2Roses, Hole Xpander and Four Wheel Drive.
Le Oxford Café in Bethune is a pretty small venue, with wood panels on the wall and a Belgian beer called ‘Troll’ on the taps. There was also a refreshing disregard for the law as when we stepped into the place our clothes immediately smelled of cigarette smoke, yes there is a smoking ban in France, just nobody told these guys! It’s hard to remember the last time I came home with my jeans smelling like they'd been worn by Keith Richards. We also had a chance to test our French speaking skill, which ranged from ‘little’ to ‘none’ and it wasn't long before we were settled in to get some high voltage rock and roll, Français style!
First up were London lads Four Wheel Drive, the main reason for travelling to Béthune, and the first thing we noticed was the volume! Seems the environmental health were off Saturday night as the band damn near blew the windows out! Even though one of the four wheels couldn’t make it, the now Three Wheel Drive put out a massive sound and as far as I could tell the capacity crowd were well and truly up for it ! A great rendition of Highway to Hell saw any language barrier torn down as every voice in the building sang along and the band produced probably the loudest performance of their own song 'High Roller', setting the benchmark at a very high level. A great start to the party ! As Four Wheel Drive pointed out, we English fans (all two of us) had travelled a long way to be there and we were ready to have a good time, fortunately so was everybody else!
Next up were French outfit, Hole Xpander (Googleing that with safe search off might not be a such un bonne idée !) I was really impressed, plus it was their first proper gig and they had a great crowd behind them throughout. I couldn’t understand what they were singing about most of the time but it makes a change for me to listen to a band without paying attention to what is being said. Of course there was a chance to join in as the band performed my favourite Twisted Sister song, ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’, which set the bar alight! Twisted Sister are probably one of the bands that sprang to mind upon hearing Hole Xpander, there are also Judas Priest and lots of thrash elements in there. I’d had a chat with the drummer before the gig and the front man a bit later on, both really nice guys and both were keen to do some shows on the other side of The Channel with Four Wheel Drive, which I would be more than happy to see, honestly, if you speak the language or not these guys are well worth a listen.
By this point we had made a couple of nouveaux amis, including a guy that wanted to learn English and ended up exchanging email addresses with me to help him learn it because I is well good at talking English and stuff, innit! He’s helping me learn some French too, so it’s win win! A short break and with our vocal chords suitably warmed up and our glasses topped up with Troll beer it was time to really have some fun with Guns2Roses.
I like Guns n' Roses and Guns2Roses are probably the best chance I have of seeing G n’ R as they were in their late eighties/early nineties heyday. Featuring two members of Hole Xpander, the confidence, passion and great selection of tracks ensured our voices would be raw by night’s end (and they started on time). The band clearly love and respect Guns n’ Roses and after a quick Google it seems they are a highly acclaimed tribute band having played with members from the actual Guns n’ Roses. We spoke to the front man before the sound check and he told us they had just got back from India, playing to 10,000 people, soon they are going to California but at the moment they are playing some smaller gigs, stuff like that always makes me want to start a band. The setlist consisted of the obvious big hits like Paradise City, Sweet Child of Mine (which they restarted for reasons I am not sure of, maybe that’s the kind of thing the real Axl Rose would do) and You Could Be Mine. But the real treats were the lesser played GnR songs like My Michelle and a personal favourite Night Train. Each track was done as good as (if not better) than the originals and the crowd loved it, so much so that the landlord and a few other Frenchmen got up on stage with the band mid set! It was a crazy night with plenty of singing and air guitaring and it was nothing but a good time!
The Oxford was jumping until the early hours and then a bit longer and after exchanging ways to swear in each other’s language with some French blokes we went back to l’hotel, slept for not nearly long enough and then drove back home. I was more than a bit drained by the time I got back to North Essex, but all I can say after all that is ‘I’m going to venture to distant gigs more often’!
Four Wheel Drive play the Ipswich Railway on Friday 8th February, so all you hard rock fans should make a point of going there!- fourwheeldriverock.com
Hole Xpander translated the bit about them to their native tongue after I shared it on their Facebook page...
Juste après passait un groupe français, Hole Xpander (rechercher ce nom sur Google avec le filtre de recherche désactivé ne serait pas une si bonne idée !) J'étais vraiment impressionné, de plus qu'il s'agisait de leur premier concert. Il y avait une foule de monde pour eux tout le long . Je ne comprenais pas les paroles la plupart du temps mais ça me change d'écouter un groupe sans faire attention à ce qui est raconté. Il y avait bien sûr de grandes chances d'accrocher car le groupe a joué ma chanson préferée de Twisted Sister : "We're Not Gonna Take It", qui a mis le feu au bar ! Twisted Sister est certainement le groupe qui nous vient en premier à l'esprit en écoutant Hole Xpander, il y a aussi du Judas Priest et pas mal d'éléments du Thrash dans tout ça. J'ai parlé avec le batteur avant le concert et avec le chanteur un peu après ; les deux sont des gars vraiment sympas et ils aimeraient tous les deux jouer de l'autre côté de la Manche avec Four Wheel Drive. Je serais plus qu'heureux de voir ça, honnêtement. Que vous parlez leur langue ou non, ces mecs méritent vraiment qu'on écoute ce qu'ils font.
This was Halloween 2012 for me, good night it was too. This one was posted on Grapevinelive.co.uk.
Monday 29th October 2012, O2 Academy, Islington
Written by Ryan Whitwell "I didn't mind because those £1.50 pints were mighty tasty."
So a very good friend of mine got me a ticket to Metal Hammer's Halloween party at Islington O2 Academy. The line up featured Heaven's Basement, Huntress and The Defiled, oh and also the brilliant Black Spiders
who happened to be half the reason I went, for the princely sum of
£4.50. £4.50 for 4 bands and £1.50 pints of Hobgoblin, sounds pretty
good.
My friends and I missed Heaven's Basement, which
was a bit of a shame as they were the other half of the reason I wanted
to go, oh well. We did see most of Huntress' set however and, as a
person that hadn't seen this American metal outfit before, I was
stunned. They were dark, near medieval in tone as their doom laden riffs
rocked the venue and I was surprised to find that lead singer of
theirs, well she has an amazing voice, so raw and powerful with the kind
of 'metal screams' usually reserved for male lead singers.
Next
were The Defiled (after a competition to find the best 'horror
screamer' in the crowd) and they did what any other hardcore industrial
metal type band would do and dressed in women's clothing. Outfits aside I
am not a fan of their genre, I prefer a bit of definition in my music
rather than a wall of distorted noise to a fast paced drum beat, but
many of the crowd enjoyed it and I didn't mind because those £1.50 pints
were mighty tasty.
And after a best dressed competition
in which an Umbrella (Resident Evil) zombie won (my Jack the Ripper
costume wasn't even considered for the top 7) it was time for the band I
wanted to see, I haven't seen them since 2011 and I am a huge fan, the
driving riffs the amazing bass line the mental drummer, yes it was time
for those hard rock heroes, Black Spiders.
The intro
music was the same as when I first saw them in 2009, the standoff music
from the good the bad and the ugly, the crowd waited, then a man emerged
in skull face paint then another until the 5 members were on stage and
then, they rocked so hard our hands had no option but to make a fist of
metal and raise to the air.
I have always loved this
band and I was anxious to hear some new songs after we spoke to the
bassist at the start of the night at the merch stand. Black Spiders
played their best numbers and a few new ones that they are currently
recording for their second album, the new stuff sounds great and I can't
wait to hear more when their album drops next April or May.
Well
done Metal Hammer for getting this show organised, but next time can
you leave more time for the headliners? Because the final set was far
too short.
The following picture is me with Black Spiders' bassist, Liam. This photo wasn't on Grapevine's website, so consider it a bonus.
Written by Ryan Whitwell
Saturday 15th December 2012,
A
mild winter's Saturday I had A quick potter around Camden market for
Christmas presents. Oh yeah, I also saw one of the best heavy metal
bands around at the moment in the form of The Treatment at Camden
Underworld.
Curren kicked off an early
start to procedings. Solid with plenty of American style rock about
them. The early start of about 6.30 meant the crowd was a little on the thin
side but that didn't dampen Curren's spirit and the lack of numbers held
up pretty well when faced with some audience participation. The band
have a great vibe about them, good upbeat band with a solid set
including a cover of Bob Seger's 'Rosalie' which matched their style
really well.
Next up on the four band roster were the brilliant Four Wheel Drive.
The high rollers were on form once again to cement themselves as one of
my favourite bands right now. This was my second Four Wheel Drive gig
but this time the band were penned in to the confines of Underworld's
stage, so no bar top guitar solos (although that didn't stop one
guitarist walking through the crowd riffing like a boss).
I'm
not sure why but I always gain an involuntary smile when I hear a Four
Wheel Drive track, much like the one I get when AC/DC is played on the
radio. I guess my subconscious is so happy this brilliant music exists
that my frontal lobe can't hide it. The same thing happened during the
headliner's set, but more about them after I mention the third band of
the evening.
Vega are a band that I had
not seen nor heard before and their style of theatrical vocals and
keyboards immediately made me think of that other side of eighties rock.
They felt a bit Bon Jovi/Billy Idol but with boyband-esque key changes
and vocals. Definitely a vocally focused band and the guitarist from
Night By Night was playing along on stage, which was a nice surprise
because he is a good guitarist. As the set continued I couldn't shake
the image of a an 'attitude' laden film from the mid-eighties where the
hero would at some point ride a motorbike for an entire song (probably
by Stan Bush) because he had to battle the bully in the big dance
tournament to get the girl. It wasn't bad and there were plenty of
established fans singing along as I think all of the songs featured an
opportunity to chant the word 'hey' or 'woah' in leu of an extended
guitar solo.
After what seemed like an especially long time, The Treatment glided on stage and proceeded to blow the roof off The Underworld and the World's End above it!
If
you haven't heard of these young guns from Cambridge then you owe it to
yourself to get a dose of The Treatment (Sorry, I promise not to do
anymore medical puns). Rounding up what has been an amazing year for the
traditional heavy metallers, supporting the likes of Motley Crüe, Kiss
and Thin Lizzy both here and in the US. The Treatment powered up their
amps and turned everything up to 'awesome' to prescribe some more volts
to an already electric Camden crowd (I promise that was the last medical
pun).
Playing a bit of their 'This Might Hurt' album and a
couple of newer tracks, The Treatment have clearly learned a lot from
the masters they have recently supported. The crowd were up for it and
all five band members knew it. plenty of fist pumping, arm waving and
head banging was going on as the barrage of hard and fast metal blasted
into the very core of our beings.
By the end of the set
the room was so energetic that a stage invasion ensued as the smothered
band played one of my favourites, 'Shake The Mountain', to top off a set
full of hit and miss crowd surfing, studded leather jackets and guitar
solos and the band just took it all in their stride as if they've been
doing it for 50 years.
Ending with a great encore
featuring a cover of Saxon's 'Motorcycle Man', the band managed to add
themselves to my list of best live bands I've seen this year!
I
cannot praise this band enough and sincerely hope they go on for a very
long time as we may well be witnessing the start of something very
special in a new wave of British heavy metal, and it's just what the
doctor ordered (OK, that one was really bad).
I'm not a fan of the O2 Arena, I've been there a few times and often feel disconnected to what is happening on stage because the standing tickets are usually too expensive. Still a good gig though, but I do really like Black Keys.This was posted on Grapevine's site.
Wednesday 12th December 2012
Written by Ryan Whitwell
You may already be aware of The Black Keys (www.theblackkeys.com),
a popular two piece blues/rock outfit from Ohio that have been going
since 2001. However, you may not know that I really like this band which
is why I jumped at the chance to see them at London's O2 as they played
one of the last two shows of their current European tour when a good
friend asked if I wanted to see them.
The support came in the form of South London’s The Maccabees (www.themaccabees.co.uk),
I only saw the last few songs as getting from North Essex to Greenwich
straight after work isn't much fun, but what I saw of them was good.
They had the crowd going and singing along to 'Love You Better' before
finishing with another of their big hits that I know not the name of.
Then it was a short wait for a band I only really got into about a year
ago (like a lot of people) but fell in love with after listening to
their back catalogue.
The Black Keys are not what I'd call
a 'big arena band', when listening to their albums I'm more inclined to
imagine small venues and bars but The Black Keys came on strong with a
little bit of help from two other musicians behind them to complete the
bass and keyboard sections. I was seated in tier 1, because standing
tickets were a bit overpriced, but from tier 1 you get a great view of
the standing crowd and immediately the cameras and phones were in the
air capturing the band as they played a good selection of newer and
older songs. I was slightly envious of those down the front, they looked
like they were having a great time, but we in the cheap(er) seats were
still having a laugh and I couldn't help but notice a few air guitars/
drums dotted around as The Black Keys threw out their signature
distorted blues riffs and the crowd did a great job during the sing
along moments with the big selling songs like Lonely Boy and Dead and
Gone from their most recent album.
Ticket prices aside,
the O2 does manage to maintain an excellent quality of sound. Every note
was crystal clear and the pounding drums kept our heads nodding. The
stage lighting was excellent but the fancy projections behind the band
were a little intermittent. One song would have a great display of
images that coincided well with the sounds but the next would be more
minimal focusing more on spotlights and lighting the crowd and a large
prop (two mirror balls) was used for one song, which seemed a waste
considering the amazing effect it achieved. I figured they were trying
to create an intimate feeling by not relying on fancy graphics to keep
those at the back interested, but the O2 isn't the place for that and
the large crowd did seem slightly distracted during a couple of the
quieter numbers, there is just too much distance between the band and
the people up in the cheapest seats.
There was a spell
when the duo gave the two extra members a rest and went back to their
traditional two man formation to play the likes of 'Your Touch' and the
first half of 'Little Black Submarines' which was a great sing along
moment before bringing back the supporting pair to return to a four
piece for the second half of the song and the remainder of the set.
The
band did a great job of keeping maintaining momentum as the set
continued with plenty of foot tapping and head nodding (plus a little
more air guitar). The likes of 'Sinister Kid' and 'Money Maker' kept the
capacity crowd bubbling away until the end of the set, which was
followed by an oddly long break before the encore. The break was so long
that a fair few people upped and left (possibly to beat the inevitable
rush for the tube). A murmur did spread as many debated whether or not
there would be an encore, but a quick look at our watches suggested it
would have been a bit cheeky to finish at 10:20. Then the encore was
confirmed as the two aforementioned mirror balls appeared, one from a
box behind the sound stage and a giant one above the stage itself. Just
the two main guys appeared to a chorus of cheers as the mirror balls
came into play with a dazzling shower of dappled light dancing around
the arena to the slow track 'Everlasting Light'. Unfortunately, being a
quiet song, I could hear a lot of the crowd talking, but it wasn't long
before the balls retracted and the Keys finished the night with one of
my favourite songs 'I Got Mine'. It was a great way to finish the show
as the pair reminded us why we like them so much, simple, honest, bluesy
rock!
I would love to see them again in a smaller venue
just to get that greater connection with the band but for now I’m really
glad I’ve seen them live as they are an excellent band and I can’t
recommend seeing them enough.
One of the support acts' (Muddy Miles) singer/guitarist is an old friend of mine from Uni. This was also my first prog gig and was posted on Grapevinelive.co.uk.
Thursday 6th December 2012, Boston Arms, Camden
Written by Ryan Whitwell
Prog, not a genre I'm well versed in
but it is one that has intrigued me, the idea of having something seem
so random and disordered but at the same time maintain a structure is
interesting. However my knowledge of prog rock extends as far as ‘Yes’
and the stranger end of Pink Floyd, so tonight’s gig featuring three
prog bands was going to be an experience regardless of the quality of
music.
As I sat on the tube from High Barnet to Tufnell
Park I listened to the EP of a couple of the three bands I was heading
to see at The Boston Arms, Camden. Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster had
top billing with support from Colchester’s Telepathy and Bristol’s Muddy
Miles and I was excited to experience some bands that I wouldn't
normally choose to see.
The venue was a bit sparse in
terms of crowd, but a nice collective managed to form as the three bands
progressed throughout the evening. Muddy Miles were
first up. I had heard their recorded stuff before but live they managed
to push their sound to a different level. I guess my favourite thing
about prog is the chaotic nature much of the genre possesses, but it
somehow remains ordered. Muddy Miles’ barrage of effects take the guitar
and bass to places it was never meant to go and it all works
surprisingly well. The level of distortion didn't interfere and Muddy
Miles seemed loose but well rehearsed at the same time (after talking to
the bassist I found out they hadn't played for a while, so maybe the
loose organic feel was accidental, either way it worked so why worry?)
Muddy Miles are planning to relocate to London so hopefully they will be
playing a lot more gigs soon.
Telepathy,
from Colchester, managed to take the chaos I mentioned earlier and rank
it up to ‘certifiable’! The four piece seemed to be enjoying themselves
as they moved around like a band possessed. The effects pedals were in
full effect, altering everything, impressing everyone and the sound
firing through the amps was nothing short of insane. The songs were all
instrumentals, which meant the structures of the songs were far beyond
the usual verse-chorus-verse format I'm used to. The shifting tempo and
rhythm kept the songs moving in all sorts of directions.
Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster
were the third and final band of the night. More reserved than the
previous bands but still maintained the energy of the evening. They were
also sporting a new bassist and I think they had another change in the
form of a lack of vocals, but I don’t know enough about the band to know
what happened there. The loss of vocals would be a dramatic change for
many bands but Bridge Disaster's songs shift and morph to the point that
you wonder where a vocalist might fit in such a thing. I really enjoyed
all three bands tonight, so much so that I might start to give prog a
bit more respect now.
All three bands have free songs and
other stuff online through Band Camp, so you can get some free music and
donate a few pounds if you like what you hear.
Saturday 1st December 2012
Written by Ryan Whitwell
The
freezing temperatures around North London greeted me as I walked up
Holloway Road to The Big Red for a free gig. Luckily they had some
spiced rum and hot apple at the bar, so the cold went away pretty
quickly and I soon realised that The Big Red could be my new favourite
venue. It’s hard to describe but I liked the mis-matched American style
décor, the lovely bar staff and the retro movie memorabilia, but I
wasn't there to look at Russ Meyer posters, I was there to see some high
voltage rock and roll!
My ear drums were suitably rattled by a new heroine of heavy metal, Mia Klose
and her band. If I had to describe them in one word, that word would be
‘eighties’. I was mightily impressed with the Swedish lass’ impressive
vocals and solid rock songs as the Motley Crüe and Scorpions influences
shone through. The songs were well received but the real highlight for
me was the amazing guitar work coming from the two guitarists on stage. I
love a good guitar solo and these guys had plenty to offer, with some
old rock and roll and blues riffs running through most of the set list
it all added up to result in a great sound.
The headliners, Four Wheel Drive,
managed to build on the excellent vibe around The Big Red by performing
an amazing array of songs. They started the first half with a barrage
of covers that often rivaled the quality of the original recordings. The
likes of AC/DC, Led Zep, Airbourne, Aerosmith were all given the Four
Wheel Drive treatment but supposedly unrehearsed version of Guns and
Roses’ You Could Be Mine featuring Mia Klose and the bassist from her
band was a highlight.
After a short break the four piece
delivered a set of their own songs, mixing their new EP with tracks from
their 2009 album (both available on iTunes). I hadn't really heard too
many of their songs before, only the ones I had seen on my Facebook news
feed from my mates, but as soon as I got home I immediately went to the
iTunes store. There were echoes from the first half of the show as all
those influences came together to create an amazing blend of classic
rock and heavy metal. Each song was a driving rock and roll onslaught.
The guitarists were on fire, opting to use their wireless guitar
pick-ups to their full extent by wandering around the bar in the center
of the venue and standing on tables to give everyone a good view of
their nimble fingers dancing around the fret board.
There
wasn't a bad moment in the set and I would gladly be quoted as saying
these guys are one of the best bands I’ve seen in 2012 so far. So good
in fact that I’m seeing them again on the 15th of December when they support Cambridge metal merchants The Treatment at Camden Underworld. I'll see you down the front!
The loudest gig of the year, my ears were ringing for at least two days after this one! Also published on Grapevinelive.co.uk
Wednesday 10th October 2012, The Relentless Garage, London
Review by Ryan Whitwell
As
I write this I'm sitting on the train home from seeing Turbowolf at The
Relentless Garage, London (10-10-2012). I'm writing it now because I
have an amazing memory that is amazing in that it forgets almost
everything in record time.
I (and the rest of the crowd)
were lucky enough to have 3 support acts tonight; Throne, Wet Nuns and
the tour regulars Black Moth, so I’ll write a bit about those three
before going on about Turbowolf.
So, first up was
Throne. I missed the beginning of their set but as soon as I walked in I
felt the jaw shattering bass macerate my teeth. Really good heavy
metal, loads of dark and weighty bass-lines, musically reminiscent of
the best parts of Black Sabbath. There were hints at other possible
influences like Black Label Society and maybe a touch of Grand Magus.
All together some really solid, steady, dark and heavy music, a great
way to start the night!
A short while later it was Wet
Nuns’ turn to continue the onslaught of dirty heavy metal. Standing at
the back near the bar and the merch, the two piece came on to give our
internal organs a good mashing. With a two piece band many think Death
From Above 1979 and yes, they did remind me of them a bit at times but
they seemed a bit more, well, mental! Lots of energy, sweat, loudness
and loads of interesting stuff (even with only a drum kit and a guitar).
The first number wasn't my thing, a bit too distorted and a more a
cacophony of noise than a song, but then they continued and displayed a
range of songs that I didn't expect, some stoner rock and punk styles
with a few sections sounding almost bluesy. This resulted in the
converting of myself along with a few of my mates to consider listening
to them at home, of course it's important to mention they are a band
when suggesting you 'like Wet Nuns' and as they started the set with a
murmur of applause they to finished with a whole room full of new fans,
because there's nothing quite like the sound of Wet Nuns on stage... Ok
moving on.
Black moth have been the support for the
duration of Turbowolf’s current tour. A friend told me that he had
listened to some of their stuff online and they were good so we headed
towards the front (although mixing with the ‘real’ fans at the front can
feel a bit odd, like you're the only one that doesn't know the words).
The group came out to rapturous cheers and applause from the front rows
and as soon as the first chord was struck the heads banged and I could
tell I was going to like this band.
Black Moth have a
real classic metal feel drifting from thrash to something darker and a
touch of punk to create a really rich and varied set list that I really
enjoyed and the thoughts of other . Lots of great vocal sections with a
few guitar solos and tempo/rhythm changes that were almost akin to the
likes of Iron Maiden, which I liked a lot. It all added up to a great
band that I will be sure to keep an ear on (which is why I put my email
address on their mailing list).
Here we go folks.
Turbowolf were the only reason I got the ticket, but on the minuscule
chance they didn't deliver I could still say this night was a fantastic
night, that was how much I enjoyed the support acts.
And
Turbowolf delivered, in fact I'd say they brought along a lot more than
I was expecting. I barely remember the last time I saw Turbowolf (I
think they were supporting Black Spiders at the same venue), this
current tour is their first headline tour and if tonight is anything to
go by it has been an awesome example of what can happen if you build up a
strong following as a support act before going all out and giving those
early fans something to behold, because without fans a band cannot
succeed and by the looks of it Turbowolf were on a mission to prove they
are worthy of their brilliant fans because Turbowolf were amazing.
The
energy, the sound, the volume all cranked to maximum and whatever was
left of us after the brilliant support was well and truly blown away.
The pit needed no encouragement and swelled in size as the band played
tracks off their album (Roses for the Crows and Read + Write being real
crowd favourites) and a couple of covers from their new covers Ep (which
are now combined as a deluxe edition on iTunes but still separate if
you already have the regular album).
For those of you
that maybe don’t know who Turbowolf are, it's kind of hard to describe
without just telling you to listen to their music. I guess the closet
band I can think of sound wise is some of Eighties Matchbox B-Line
Disaster’s stuff but there are still too many differences (like the
vocals, levels of distortion). Turbowolf like to experiment with sound
plus their cover art and merchandise have some surreal images so at
first glance you might assume they'd be classed as 'prog rock' and that
would be quite a way from how they actually sound. The distortion and
energy suggests 'punk' or 'thrash' but the synth, keys and the odd
samples point towards experimental/psychedelic genres so I’m going to
bail out and say Turbowolf are a genre of their own, which is why they
deserve your attention and why I can't wait to hear more from them. Even
more so as they played a new track that sounded great!
TL;DR
Fantastic gig, I was happy enough to pay to see Turbowolf alone, but to
have three new bands that I want to hear more of means the whole
evening has been a great success!
I ended up being a bit later than I wanted to be for this one, so I missed the support, but Grapevinelive liked this review enough to post it on their site.
Friday 26th October 2012
Written by Ryan Whitwell
First
things first, due to whatever reason, I managed to miss the first
support act of the evening (Sondura) and only saw a smidgen of the
second band's set (The Mercy House), so I can't really go into detail
about them or their music. But seeing as they were supporting the
brilliant Jettblack, they must be good.
High Wycombe's
heavy metalers, Jettblack, played Camden's Underworld as part of their
first headline tour (not including the co-headline gigs they did with
Heaven's Basement a couple of years ago). The main support were a band
called Night by Night, whom I had never heard of until tonight but they
did intrigue me.
Night by Night had a bit of a following
with a fair number of the crowd singing along and raising hands, but I
had my 'gig review' hat on and as soon as they began to play I tried to
sum them up in a way that would describe them well to somebody that
hasn't heard of them... I failed at that, coming up with the idea that
they are musically a little bit like Fallout Boy or maybe Avenged
Sevenfold but with the vocals of Backstreet Boys, which sounds like a
terrible band description but Night by Night are actually quite
impressive. I have only seen them live this one time and am yet to
listen to any recorded stuff, but I'd say they are very much vocally
led. Some great guitar solos and the lead singer was brilliant but what
impressed me more was the harmonies from both the bassist and one of the
guitarists (Night by Night are a 5 piece), harmonies that were so pitch
perfect I almost wondered if they had pre-recorded it because that
level of perfection is rare even for some of the bigger names.
Onto
the headliners. I think the last time I saw Jettblack was at the same
venue about two years ago with Heaven's Basement and Earth Prayer and I
saw them at Ozzfest 2010, so it's fair to say I have faith in this band
and I'd call myself a fan of theirs. Since I last saw them they have
released their second album and are definitely progressing. A quick word
about their second album (Raining Rock), in short I was a bit unsure of
some of the tracks because lyrically a couple of the songs were a bit
off putting, but the majority of the album was as good as (and sometimes
better than) their excellent debut album. Fortunately, Jettblack's set
was well thought out, they did the best possible thing and played the
best tracks off of their latest offering and switched it up with the
best their first album has to offer. Opening with the instrumental first
track of their latest album and immediately setting the venue alight
with the hard hitting 'Slip it on', one of the tracks that got me hooked
on this band in the first place. The great tracks just kept on coming
and with the venue jumping to the powerful 'Less Torque More Thrust' and
'Get Your Hands Dirty'. Even the slower ballads like 'Not Even Love'
were greeted with a chorus of fans singing every word at full volume.
And
the band seemed to be enjoying every second, the bassist especially had
the cheesiest grin for most of the set as the crowd continued to make
themselves known with plenty of movement and vocal encouragement, a sure
sign that this band are worth investing your interest in. In my
opinion, what makes or breaks a gig is the connection the band has with
the crowd. When I saw Turbowolf a couple of weeks ago, they were on fire
and the lead singer made sure we were all having a damn good time.
Rival Sons, however, failed to connect, mostly because of their bizarre
choice to play their entire new album note for note in the same order as
the record but also because there wasn't much talking to the crowd.
Jettblack were excellent entertainers, playing the best songs off of
both albums and encouraging everybody to join in gave the whole gig a
real collaborative vibe, as if we, the crowd, were being acknowledged as
part of the band, because (as I've said before) a band without fans
isn't a band at all and I think Jettblack displayed just how much they
appreciate their fan base and I can't wait to hear more from them.
Monday 1st October 2012, Electric Ballroom, Camden
Review by Ryan Whitwell
Monday
the 1st of October, the first of hopefully a good month of live music
for myself. I took the train from Witham down to Camden's Electric
Ballroom to see Rival Sons, a band I myself know little about. I've only
really listened to their latest album, Head Down, and a few tracks from
their two previous albums that friends have shared on Facebook.
The
evening started with the first of two supports, Pint Size Hero. An
Eastbourne based band that kicked things off with a solid and upbeat set
to get the crowd nicely warmed up. Lots of bands came to mind as they
performed; Oasis, Libertines, The Enemy, The Cure and a touch of the
Clash about them, which all added up to a great sounding act. Quality
songs all performed well, possibly one to watch in the not too distant
future.
Ulysses, from Bath, were next up. Opening their
set with a bouncy upbeat number almost like a rocky beach boys, the
kind of thing that would suit a beach party, but a touch dirtier (the
music is a bit dirtier, not the beach). There were also a few tracks
that hinted at a Who influence. Ulysses sounded great and have already
got quite a following if the Ballroom crowd was anything to go by. But
the main event, all the way from California, would prove to be...
Brilliant!
Really good stuff. Honestly, Rival Sons are a band well worth getting
hyped about (if you're not hyped about them already). Performing their
last show of the UK leg of their current European tour, they looked
good, sounded tight and had the presence of a band that are deserving of
big things.
However, and this was a bit of a thing
between my friends and the surrounding crowd, they were playing their
latest album, note for note, in the same track order as the album! Now,
I've seen a fair few bands and I've never seen one that does that.
They've had 3 albums plus one EP and they chose to play their current
album as if they had plugged in an iPod and added some distortion. The
atmosphere began at a good level, as many of the crowd had followed
Rival Sons for a number of years, but steadily dwindled as the band
continued to play the first 9 songs off their two week old album, but
then something brilliant happened.
The band turned it up
and played some of their older stuff, the fan favourites, like Tell Me
Something and On My Way, really raw and powerful, as if the first part
was a contractual obligation and suddenly they could do what they want.
The
Ballroom lifted, the band connected with the crowd and suddenly I was
surrounded by jumping fans and rapturous cheers as the first chords of
'Torture' were struck. The gig went from potential disappointment to a
fantastic performance. Everything worked, the guitar licks were spot on
and the vocals matched. We were witnessing a band that could very well
go on to be something epic, with a sound that pleases both young and old
(I know, I've tested it and the age range in the crowd proves it too)
Rival Sons will be bigger, and better, but their set list might need
some work as the doubt that they may not be good live was lingering for
far too long and the lack of talking to the crowd felt a bit odd.
Overall
the line up was great, the atmosphere matched and all three bands were
firing on all cylinders (even if Rival Sons took a while to get the
engine revved up)
I've been away from this blogging lark for a while, but with not too many Adventures or Diversions happening in the past few months I've had little of interest to write about, but sitting around waiting for things to happen is a sure fire way to end up bored.
Since being back in Blighty I have been hitting up a lot of live gigs at various venues and after seeing an ad in a local free magazine I wrote a review and emailed it to the same magazine. That magazine was Grapevine and they seemed to like my review and since then I have written one for every gig I've been to (except New Year's Eve 2012, but that's because I don't remember enough of it to write a decent review).
This blog is here to place and share my reviews in one place, I have links on the ones that have been published on other sites and as yet I haven't had any published in any physical print media... but you never know...
Right. Time to copy/paste the reviews I've already done to get this blog up to date.
